Zinira
by Flipside7
Summary: My little twist on the professor's adventures. Hopefully I'll be able to write for them all including the movie and beyond! What if there was another main character added to the plot? Will Layton figure out her past and the threat she is under? Set in CV.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing of professor Layton, I only own any characters I make and any plot I create. This is purely for my own and others entertainment. Enjoy!

Stranger?

As the Professor and Luke made their way down the overgrown road in the laytonmobile, the Professor handed Luke a letter.

"I don't understand, Professor. Why are we going to help solve an inheritance dispute?" asked Luke.

"Luke, my boy, do you really think I would take on such an ordinary request as that? Oh, no! This is an altogether unique and exiting situation, and it has piqued my intellectual curiosity." The Professor said. "But I suppose it would be best to explain the case before we arrive at our destination. Two months ago, Baron Augustus Reinhold passed away. Shortly after his death, his will was disclosed. The contents of it were fascinating to say the least. 'The Reinhold family treasure, the Golden Apple, is hidden somewhere within this village. To whomever successfully locates this treasure, I offer the whole of my estate'. Naturally, those who attended the reading of the will immediately set out in search of the golden apple. But in the end, everybody came back empty handed. It turns out that no one had even heard of such a treasure existing until its mention in the will."

"Wow, that's some puzzle, all right." Exclaimed Luke.

"Quite. Augustus Reinhold staked his entire fortune just to create one more puzzle before his death. What a perplexing individual. I wish I could have met him while he was still alive." Sighed the Professor.

"It certainly sounds like you two would've got along, Professor!" Luke chirped in. "By the way, just what is this Golden Apple anyhow?"

"Some speculate it's a rare antique, while others say it could be a gem, yet its identity remains elusive. But, Luke, I can't shake the feeling that this matter is linked to some larger mystery. Something huge." Explained Layton.

"Aha! Is that your famous intuition at work again, Professor!" Luke asked.

"Mm. Well our first step is getting to town."

"This is all so exciting!" exclaimed Luke. "I hope St Mystere is ready for the famous archaeologist and puzzle-solving detective, Hershel Layton!"

The Professor chuckled, "Ha Ha! Oh, Luke, you know as well as I do that I am no detective. Augustus Reinhold's wife, Lady Dahlia, has asked me to investigate the situation. It seems that she came across my name by chance when reading an article about me in the papers."

"And you immediately decided to take her up on her request?" questioned Luke.

"Ho ho! Well, Luke, a true gentleman never refuses the request of a beautiful lady."

"If you say so, Professor…" Luke trailed off.

"We should be nearing the town by now. Look at the map in the envelope and help me with directions."

"Right you are, Professor! What in the…? What's this?" Said Luke looking confused at the map in front of him. It had many villages on it but no clear indication as to where St Mystere lay.

"Lady Dahlia seems to have given us a test. We'll need to decipher this map in order to find the village. She wants to see if we're capable of cracking the mystery surrounding the Reinhold fortune. Care to give it a go, Luke?" enquired the Professor.

"I'll do my best! A puzzle like this should be no problem for the apprentice of the great Professor Layton."

"Very well then, Luke. I'll leave this one to you. Think of it as warm-up for things to come."

Luke pondered over the map, reading the instructions that Lady Dahlia had set. After a minute he exclaimed,

"Layton's apprentice saves the day! There we go! Now we should be able to make our way to the village."

"Right you are. We should see it on the horizon any moment now."

"Huh? Professor, do you mean to say you've already worked out the village's location?" probed Luke.

"Ha ha ha! I'm afraid I couldn't help myself. A basic puzzle like that is easy enough to solve with a glance. Anyhow, you'd best gather your things, Luke. We've arrived." Said the Professor. They both exited the car outside St Mystere which was surrounded by a river and walls. The most prominent aspect of the village was the very tall and oddly shaped tower. It had an ominous air around it. Before either of them could say anything they heard the sound of horses thumping hooves. They turned to see a lady with pale skin and raven black hair, which the foremost part was plaited to the back and the rest left to flow down her back. She dismounted her black hoarse as she approached them.

"Hello, miss, might I ask you if you are also entering St Mystere" Said the Professor friendly.

"Yes, I am" she replied nodding. She was wearing a black long flowing skirt with elegant laced boots underneath. Her tunic was a white shirt that covered her neck with frills at the front of the chest; the long sleeves were loose until they fastened up at the wrists. Over the top of this shirt was a black over bust corset with straps.

"I am Professor Hershel Layton from Gressenheller University and this is Luke." He indicated to Luke.

"I am Zinira, a traveller and illusionist." She said.

"Illusionist?" Luke whispered to the Professor.

"Someone who creates illusions." He answered in a hushed tone.

"Like a magician?" Said Luke forgetting to speak quietly. Zinira smiled catching most of the conversation and replied,

"Not quite the same as a magician."

Luke liked he wanted to say more but the Professor cut him off,

"That's quite enough Luke. I'm sorry if we were bad-mannered?"

"Not at all, I'm sure he was just curious." Zinira said understandingly. "Shall we figure out how we are going to enter the village?" The Professor nodded and said curiously,

"Interesting. It appears that this drawbridge is the entrance to the village." "And we're stuck on the outside. What should we do, Professor? Oh, look over there! There's a man standing on the other side of the river. Maybe he can help us." Luke exclaimed.

"Good day, sir!" the professor addressed the man across the river. He was wearing blue jeans and a white top. Most of his face was obscured by a red cap and a moustache. "We'd very much like to gain access to the village. Could you please drop the bridge for us?"

"Do I LOOK like the sort to go droppin' the bridge for a bunch of fancy-looking outsiders?" The man said furiously shaking his fist. "Hrmph! You've got some nerve!"

"We received a letter of invitation from Lady Dahlia. I don't suppose that changes things, does it?" Inquired the Professor.

"From Lady Dahlia?" He seemed to have calmed down; at least, he wasn't shaking his fist any more. "Well then, I'd love to lower the bridge for you, smartypants… but the engine is broken, and I can only move this blasted bridge with the hand crank. Hrmph! There's all these infernal slots I could put the crank in, but I ain't got a clue which one to use… Hrmph! So, brainbox, you got any idea which one is the right one?"

The Professor looked over, leaning over the river, if he tipped any more he would be taking a nice cold swim. He directed the man which slot was the right one.

"That should do it" said the Professor contently to himself.

"That'll do it! Hold on a second. I'll let 'er down. Hrmph!" The man shouted over. "I'm gonna say it again, I just don't feel right letting outsiders into St Mystere. But if you're Lady Dahlia's guests, I guess I'd better. At least give her my regards, you hear?"

He started turning the leaver to let the bridge down, but half way down it stopped. He gave another heave before wiping his forehead and yelled across,

"The blasted thing is jammed!"

Before anyone could do anything, the women took off a rather heavy looking bag from her horse and threw it on to the drawbridge. It made a creaking noise but did not budge. The Zinira narrowed her eyes at the bridge. She led her horse closer to the bridge. Then mounted her horse and stood up. Without warning she jumped, flipping in the air swiftly, and landed gracefully on the bridge. It made a loud groaning noise and gave way under her weight. Soon it was at a safe level to cross.

"Professor did you see that!" cried Luke.

"Yes, my boy, I did."

Standing up, Zinira placed her bag back on her horse.

"You need not put yourself in danger for our sake." Said the professor approaching Zinira. She shrugged,

"I need to enter the village myself."

"Thank you for your assistance." Layton said sincerely. Luke, who had been watching the whole conversation, blurted out,

"How did you do that?"

"Luke!" said Layton reproachfully. Zinira chuckled.

"It's alright." She said to Layton then addressed Luke, "It comes with lots of practice." She grabbed hold of her horse's reins, ready to go. Layton gestured for her to precede first.

"Lady's first." He said kindly. The man who had watched the whole event with a gobsmacked expression gathered himself together and stood in front of Zinira as she was half way across the bridge, the Professor and Luke behind her.

"Wait a minute fancy-foot! Are you invited by lady Dahlia?"

"Of course. She asked me quite a few months back but I have been preoccupied."

"Hrmph! Well alright, as long as you don't cause any trouble." With that he let her pass.


	2. Chapter 2

Lady Dahlia.

The Professor, Luke and Zinira entered the village.

"Yes! We've finally arrived in St Mystere! I'm so excited! I wonder what mysteries await us here." Luke said with joy.

"Ha ha ha ha! Well, Luke, we'll find out soon enough. Just be careful not to let your excitement cloud your ability to analyse tour surroundings." He said sternly. The Professor then addressed Zinira. "Since we are heading to Lady Dahlia, I would be delighted to accompany you."

"Thank you, *

As they set off a man with a rather round nose and moustache stepped in the way.

"Hey now, don't run off yet! I've got something you should hear first." He said as he stepped in their path. "Keh heh heh! What a dandy set of visitors you are. Must be new to St Mystere, eh? The name's Stachenscarfen, and I've got some advice for you. Go and look at that barrel back there. Don't ask questions! Just do it!"

The professor and Luke headed to the barrel and returned with a coin.

"Keh heh heh! Felt good didn't it! 'Round these parts, that's what we call a hint cion. When you find yourself up against a really tough puzzle, you'll want a hint. Trust me on this one, fellows and lady. And it's just those times when you'll want to use a hint coin to purchase a hint. I bet you think puzzles will be a breeze now, eh? Think again! There are a limited number of hint coins in this village! So don't go wasting coins on any old riddles. Because if you do, when you come across a real stumper, you'll be sorry! REEEALLY sorry! Mind you, hint coins won't always be hidden inside barrels. Check any object that seems suspicious. Got all that? Good. Be seeing you 'round." With that he left.

"What an unsual man." Zinira commented.

"Quite." Layton agreed. Luke on the other hand went and poked his nose about and found more hint coins.

"Thank you, Luke, would you keep them in your bag?" The Professor asked.

"Of course, Professor!"

Thanks to a map Lady Dahlia disclosed in both of their letters, they made their way over to Reinhold Manor. They made it to the village square when Luke looked curiously over to a smart looking boy that was peering at the group and said,

"Professor, why don't we see what that person over there has to say?"

"Right you are my boy." They headed over to the boy with the white scarf.

"Oh, hello. I'm Percy St Mystere's unofficial 'writer in residence'. If you're looking for Reinhold manor you just head up that road to the right. It's immense, so you'll know it when you see it. But before you go, why not try your hand at this puzzle I thought up? See if you can work out which house is mine from the instructions I give you. I'll even sweeten the deal for you! If you manage to solve this puzzle, I'll tell you about this village. So, how about it? You will try, won't you? After all, a writer is nothing without an audience!" Percy then explained the puzzle to the Professor. After a minute of pondering he pointed out Percy's house and said,

"Critical thinking is the key to success!"

"Impressive! I thought I'd set out quite a puzzle, but you made short work of it. Now for that gossip I promised you. The Reinhold family owns all of the land this village is built upon. I hear they own all the buildings too. I suppose you could say this village belongs to the Reinhold's. Well, that's all from me for now, But rest assured that next time I'll have a harder puzzle for you!" With that they parted and set off again towards the Reinhold manor.

"Professor, look at that man standing in the street." Luke indicated to a man in dark clothes and a long nose. "He's blocking the path up to Reinhold Manor. How terribly rude!"

"Perhaps he'll move for us, but I have a feeling he has no intention of doing anything of the sort." Said the Professor. They headed over to the man.

"Hold up! I've never seen any of you here before. What are all you new faces like yourselves doing here?" Said the man suspiciously.

"We are all here by invitation of the Reinhold's. Now if you'll excuse us, we have business through the gate."

"Business with the Reinholds, Izzat so? Something's strange here. Yeah, you're a fishy lot, mmm. I don't trust you, that's for sure, but I'll let you pass if you can solve this riddle, see? Just to warn you, it's a tough one. Isn't going to be easy, is it? No way, definitely not gonna be easy…"

"We shall see shall we." Said Zinira as she looked at the small weights and the puzzle. After using the two turns she chose one of the small weights.

"This is the one." She stated.

"Hey, not half bad. Pretty sharp bunch, aren't ya? Group of good, sharp apples, you lot are." Said the man impressed.

"So, have we satisfied you? May we pass now?" the Professor asked.

"'Course you can pass! Move along! And you better make sure you give my regards to Lady Dahlia." The man said. When the man had left, the Professor said,

"Well done Zinira!"

"Thank you, it was the least I could do." They entered through the gates into the Reinhold Manor garden where they saw their path prohibited by a river. The only way across was on a boat which seemed to belong to a man who was very skinny and had purple lips.

"And just who might you be?" he asked.

"My name is Layton, and this is my assistant, Luke. This is Zinira." The Professor introduced them. "We received an invitation to visit Reinhold Manor."

"Ah, yes, yes. Ahoo hoo hoo! We've all been expecting you, Professor Layton." He then fixed his beady eyes on Zinira. "We expected you quite some time ago."

"I do apologies, I have been preoccupied." Zinira said sincerely.

"Hmm. But, ahoo hoo, you'll have to excuse my scepticism. Can't trust anyone these days, you know. For all I know, you could be just another hoo-hoo-hooligan in a top hat. Ahoo hoo hoo! So how do I know you're the real Layton?"

"Did you hear that, Professor? The nerve of this fellow!" said Luke outraged. "Surely you aren't going to go through with this after an insult like that!"

"Now, now, Luke, settle down." Layton calmed Luke. "Sir, are you saying that you'd like to test me to see if I am the real Professor Layton?"

"Precisely, Professor 'Layton'. Now, if you don't mind, would you please solve this puzzle for me?" Said the purple lipped man. He then presented the professor with an old puzzle of chicks and wolves. The professor solved the puzzle with the chicks and wolves safely on the other side.

"Ahoo hoo hoo! Do excuse my earlier rudeness! Let me show you to the manor. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Everyone? I was under the impression that Lady Dahlia was the only person expecting me." Stated Layton.

"Right this way, please." Was all the purple lipped man said. Zinira tied her horse to a nearby tree and took a black bag off the saddle that slung over her solder. The horse seemed content with grazing on the grass. She then joined back to the Professor, Luke and the purple lipped man. The Professor offered to help Zinira into the boat but she politely declined. They crossed over the river in a rather cramped boat. On the way over, Luke admired the garden,

"Wow, look at those flowers! They sure are pretty!"

"Indeed they are. I'm sure someone put a lot of work into them. Oh, that reminds me… Would you like to hear a puzzle about growing flowers?" asked the Professor.

"You bet, Professor! Let's hear it!" Luke said enthusiastically. Zinira had heard this puzzle a long time ago and just zoned out. They were just on the other side when Luke figured out the answer for how much Roland should be paid. Once Luke realised where they were he looked around and said,

"Is THIS the manor, Professor?" he indicated to the large, beautiful building. "It's positively gigantic! Just look at the size of it!"

"It certainly seems like we've come to the right place. Let's head on shall we?"

"Yes, sir!" Luke said eagerly. They headed towards the Manor and were greeted by an elderly, short man in a blue uniform after knocking on the door.

"Welcome to Reinhold Manor. Thank you for coming. I am Matthew, butler and servant to the Reinhold family. Everyone is waiting upstairs for you. Ah, but before you go, I have a message from Lady Dahlia. She has requested that you take a look at this puzzle. Please do not be taken aback. My Lady has the strangest sense of propriety sometimes." Matthew led them to a puzzle set on the table. Zinira remembered this puzzle from the first time she was here. It was relaxing not to have to go through the whole procedure the Professor was undertaking. Most of the village members remembered her face. She looked over at the life sized portraits whilst the Professor was solving the puzzle.

"Every puzzle has an answer!" Layton exclaimed when he had solved the puzzle. Zinira made her way over to them.

"That's absolutely correct. My commendations, sir. Again, I do apologise for the strangeness of the request. Now please walk this way. We mustn't keep Lady Dahlia and company waiting. Please make your way to the first floor."

They made their way up and entered the room. There were two men. One was generously portioned and the other was quite the opposite being stick thin. The thin one pushed his glasses up his nose and analysed them with a smug look on his face. Lady Dahlia entered the room with her white cat in her arms.

"Ah, Zinira, it is good to see you again. What has kept you?"

"My apologies, I have been somewhat… busy."

"Mmm, I'm quite sure you are a busy women." The Lady said thoughtfully. "However, your services are not needed at present. My husband has passed away and there is a dispute on the contents of his will."

"Augustus… I'm sorry for your loss." Zinira said sincerely. Lady Dahlia moved on to Professor Layton.

"Oh, you must be Professor Layton, I presume? It's an honour to make your aquantance."

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine." He replied. Abruptly, there was loud bang as the chandelier shook and the floor vibrated. Zinira tensed up, ready for anything. The white cat that Lady Dahlia was holding jerked from his restful slumber and leaped out of Lady Dahlia's arms.

"Oh, no! Claudia darling! Come back, sweety!" Lady Dahlia cried as it ran past a very startled Luke. After everything had settled down, there were no more vibrations, Lady Dahlia was the first to speak,

"Honestly, why am I constantly surrounded by incompetence? This is a disaster!" she said crossly.

"Whatever is the matter?" asked Layton.

"Oh, this is simply terrible! My dear, sweet baby! My Claudia"

"Your…Claudia?" the Professor looked confused.

"Sweet, sweet Claudia! My little honeykins! My smoochie pie! My baby! Matthew! Matthew!" she wailed.

"My lady!" Matthew arrived looking flustered. "What is it? What in the world happened?"

"My little Claudia got scared and ran off! Didn't you see her dart out the room?"

"I… I must have missed her. I'm terribly sorry, my Lady." Matthew stuttered.

"Oh, you're just useless, aren't you! Professor, you didn't see which way my baby ran off to, did you?"

"Your… baby, madam? If you are referring to that white cat, I saw it running out that door a moment ago." Layton said politely.

"What?" Lady Dahlia screeched. "And you simply stood there and let her escape?"

"Well, she IS a cat. They are animals, after all, and animals must run about from time to…"then Layton was cut across by Lady Dahlia,

"You fool! She is NOT just a cat! She has a name, and that name is Claudia Reinhold. She is a delicate flower, and she is simply a mess when I'm not close by to comfort her! Matthew! I need you to find Claudia and bring her back immediately!"

"About this little inheritance problem of yours, Lady Dahlia…" Enquired the Professor. Zinira could have just slapped her forehead. He had a bit to learn about Lady Dahlia and her priorities.

"That can wait! Can't you see that we have more pressing concern on our hands at the moment? You could have stopped her and you didn't! So you have the responsibility to find Claudia and bring her back!"

"Lady Dahlia, you need to calm down." Zinira said sternly.

"Hmph! Sending the professor off to find a silly cat! The nerve! Who do you think you are?" piped in Luke.

"Ha ha! Oh, it's fine, Luke. Besides, Lady Dahlia does seem to have a point. It does seem we let Claudia run off." Layton soothed Luke. "Madam, if you'll excuse us, we have a cat to track down."

"Thank you, and please hurry up!" Lady Dahlia seemed to have calmed down. "My Claudia is such a delicate flower; even the coarse outdoor air might prove too much for her!"

"I shall assist you." Zinira offered.

"You do not need to take responsibility for my mistake." The professor said.

"Trust me, you're going to need all the help you can get to bring back that cat." Zinira said with her hands on her hips and a sparkle in her eyes.


End file.
